1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to visual aids for teaching and particularly to a visual aid for demonstrating the formation of colors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The formation of colors is a subject normally taught to children at an early age. Very young children recognize and appreciate color. They quickly learn to associate familiar objects with their usual color. Early education programs capitalize on the natural abilities of children by incorporating art and craft projects to teach children to express themselves by using colors. The formation of secondary colors by combining primary colors is a foundational element in the teaching of young children. Visual aids are an effective means for teaching the concept of color formation.
Pigments of primary colors may be mixed to produce a secondary color. Also, colored light, of primary colors, may be combined and viewed together to produce a secondary color. Two colors selected from the primary colors, red, blue, and yellow, may be mixed or combined to form secondary colors, purple, green, and orange. Color wheels have been used to teach the combination by displaying the primary colors in “pie slice” shaped segments of a circle. Secondary colored segments are placed between the primary colored segments. A purple segment is placed between the red and blue segments with indicia to indicate that red and blue may be combined or mixed to form the color purple. Likewise, the green segment is placed between the blue and yellow segments and the orange segment is placed between the red and yellow segments. The color wheel serves to provide an explanation of the process for forming colors but does not provide a demonstration of the formation of the secondary colors.
In order to demonstrate the formation of secondary colors, the visual aid must actually mix or combine the primary colors to produce the secondary colors. Mixing colored pigments is a cumbersome process and once mixed, the pigments cannot be separated for repeating the process. Liquid pigments cannot be easily viewed by a large group of students.
More effective visual aids have been developed using colored visible light. Transparent sheets of plastic may be tinted in various colors. For example, a first sheet may be tinted a first primary color and a second sheet may be tinted a second primary color. Each of the sheets may be perceived as being of the tinted color. The two sheets having different primary color tints may be overlaid and viewed to perceive a third color. The third color being the secondary color formed by combining the first color and the second color. The Wolf, U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,166, discloses an educational toy consisting of at least two water-soluble colored plastic sheets. The sheets can be cutout or punched into various shapes. When overlaid, the two plastic sheets appear as a third color. The use of the visual aid of Wolf, '166, requires that an instructor coordinate an explanation of the process of combining the colors as the sheets are arranged such that a view of overlaid sheets produces a particular color, according to the explanation. In addition, an image or an object may be viewed through a tinted sheet or through two or more overlaid tinted sheets but, depending on the color of the object itself, the object may appear as an arbitrary color not coordinated with the explanation offered by the instructor.
The U.S. application to Freeman, 2006/0154215, discloses an educational toy for teaching the formation of colors comprised of translucent filters in various colors. The toy is a series of three translucent discs or panels, with each disc or panel having a different additive or subtractive primary color. The translucent discs may be combined with each other to produce a new color. The device of Freeman, '215, also requires that an explanation be coordinated with the view demonstrated by a particular combination of filters. The view of an object, having a particular color, may cause the object to have a color not incorporated into the instructor's explanation and introduce a potentially confusing variable.
There is a need for a visual aid for forming colors which cooperates with an accurate explanation of the color combination perceived in a particular view.
There is a need for a visual aid for forming colors which can convey an instructional script associated with a color combination view for a child using the visual aid independently.
There is a need for a visual aid for forming colors which associates a color combination view of an image with an instructional script.